This weekend saw a neck-and-neck race for the first spot at the box office, with the animated 'Rio 2' offering strong competition for last week's champion, 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier.' When the dust, debris and feathers settled, the one starring the superhero took the first slot, but there is no shame in a second place that strong.

Film

Weekend

Per Screen

1

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

$41,398,000 (-56.4)

$10,512

$159,006,000

2

Rio 2

$39,000,000

$9,878

$39,000,000

3

Oculus

$12,000,000

$4,532

$12,000,000

4

Draft Day

$9,750,000

$3,506

$9,750,000

5

Divergent

$7,500,000 (-42.2)

$2,412

$124,877,000

6

Noah

$7,450,000 (-56.3)

$2,270

$84,872,000

7

God's Not Dead

$5,485,000 (-29.3)

$2,949

$40,700,000

8

The Grand Budapest Hotel

$4,050,000 (-33.8)

$2,761

$39,470,000

9

Muppets Most Wanted

$2,193,000 (-64.3)

$970

$45,670,000

10

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

$1,825,000 (-64.4)

$912

$105,215,000

Despite its steep drop (typical for a blockbuster of this size), the Captain America sequel reigned supreme, grossing $41 million over the weekend for a current total of $159 million. At this rate, $200 million is a sure thing and $250 million is a distinct possibility. The most important thing is that it will soon obliterate the final gross of 'Captain America: The First Avenger' and cross right over the strong final gross of 'Thor: The Dark World.'

In second place, 'Rio 2' made an impressive $39 million, which is identical to the opening of the first film back in 2011. Sure, the studio certainly wished that number was higher, but at least it didn't go down (which would just be embarrassing). The film shouldn't have a problem breaking $100 million and matching the success of its predecessor.

The horror flick 'Oculus' arrived in spot number three, grossing a modest $12 million. That's not a spectacular number, but the film was made for pennies and it'll make its money back in the end. Not to mention the fact that this is the kind of movie that will clean up on DVD and Blu-ray. It has a long life ahead of it as a rental, even though it'll probably top out around $25 million max.

The final new release of the week didn't fare quite as well. 'Draft Day' opened in fourth place with a sluggish $9 million, which provides further evidence that America has completely lost its way and is no longer supporting Kevin Costner. This is not an expensive production, but it's also not a movie that can afford to open below $10 million.

In fifth place, 'Divergent' continued to appeal to kids who like dystopias, taking in $7 million for a $124 million total. That's very good and if the franchise follows the 'Twilight' model, it'll double that gross with the next film.

In sixth place, 'Noah' started to show signs of struggle, taking in $7 million, bringing it to $84 million. At this rate, it still has a shot at $100 million, but it's unlikely to break even domestically. Thankfully, international grosses are strong enough to rescue this one.

Two of 2014's sleeper hits occupied the seventh and eighth spots, with 'God's Not Dead' and 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' grossing $5 and $4 million respectively, bringing the former to $40 million and the latter to $39 million. It'll be interesting to see which of these diametrically opposed films ultimately comes out on top.

Finally, 'Muppets Most Wanted' and 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' all-but-ended their runs this weekend thanks to the arrival of 'Rio 2.' 'Muppets Most Wanted' has a shot at $50 million (which would make it a tiny success) and 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' will close out just north of $100 million. Not bad. Not bad at all.